I've got quite a collection of DeWalt 12V cordless tools, including 7 batteries. Some of the batteries will only hold a charge for 4 or 5 minutes. It's time to do something about that. What has your experience been with rebuilding these batteries? There is a plethora of websites of companies that do battery rebuilding. Any one in particular that did a good job for you?
Thanks.
Bob
I got quoted a higher price for a rebuild on a Makita 18v than a brand new Makita (not a fake one) battery sold through another supplier I found on line.
Dave
I rebuild my own after all it is NOT rocket science. Sad thing is though, if you wait a month or so, you can probably buy a new,complete drill/batts/charger/case for LESS than just one battery.And Nobody wants the old stuff,just the landfill,ugh. Greensville Jay
Bob,
I had our local batteries plus store rebuild my bosch 14.4 volt battery. They were $15 to $20 less than a new battery. The owner of the store said it will last longer than a new battery because they use better cells. The battery was rebuilt about 8 months ago and still works fine.
AZCRAIG
Rebuilding batteries works fine and is fairly easy to do - so long as you buy decent cells that are already tagged. As a dirt-cheap cordless drill typically has a good chuck, a good motor , a useful gearbox and is let down by poor cells and a terrible charger, then rebuilding cheap tool batteries and replacing their charger makes a lot of sense.
For DeWalt and Makita though, the standard cells are usually pretty good. Check the cost of re-cell vs. replace and then it's up to you.
Most of the DeWalts seem to be worth rebuilding and are generally returned unrecognizable, in both power and depth of charge, from when they were purchased with the tool.
IME, well worth checking out.
I've found the same thing with my 9.6V batteries. Right now its cheaper to buy new, so I'm just storing the old ones until such time I can't get them anymore then I can rebuild a few.
Do you mean this in a good way or bad? By the time the batteries are completely dead on my DeWalts, they are usually just about worn out anyway so I don't rebuild. I sell them, then catch a sale or recon tool with a warranty.
Robert
I have a 10 year old Freud 13.2v cordless whose batteries died a few years ago. Since then I have tried different new cordless drills, and none of them have the balance or the chuck quality (it's a rohm) of the freud. I really missed using that drill.
So, a couple weeks ago I finally had two battery packs rebuilt. They were $35 each from voltman batteries.
LMS
bob> I've got quite a collection of DeWalt 12V cordless tools, bob> including 7 batteries. Some of the batteries will only hold a bob> charge for 4 or 5 minutes. It's time to do something about that. bob> What has your experience been with rebuilding these batteries? bob> There is a plethora of websites of companies that do battery bob> rebuilding. Any one in particular that did a good job for you?
bob> Thanks.
bob> Bob
I might try that. Where do you get the internal batteries??
Hey, thanks!
I never gave a thought to Batteries plus. There's one 2 miles from my house!
Bob
Places like digikey and mouser sell them
They are still in business?? All of them in the Bay Area went kaput a couple years ago to the best of my knowledge. I went in once; high prices, poor selection, and nobody shopped them.
Dave
I'm facing the same problem with 2 P-C 14.4s. Pricegrabber said the cheapest new ones were about $55.00 each.
I searched around and found a rebuilder that looks reputable and reasonable -- Voltman Batteries,
Bob, the quote for 12V batteries is also $35.00
I'll report back when they're returned.
It's usually not worth the time or trouble to rebuild unless you're using bottom-of-the-barrel replacement parts, and then why bother doing it at all? Most batteries aren't that expensive and they last quite a while, just dispose of the old ones and get new.
That depends. A new DeWalt 18v XRP is in the range of $75 - $85 ... for $48 you can rebuild/upgrade and increase the capacity considerably, and for $72 you can further upgrade the cells for twice the runtime, either option giving you a stronger, longer lasting battery than any new one you can buy.
Actually, most batteries are in the range of $50 - $85. In my book, that's not inexpensive. When a battery rebuild costs $50 and new one costs the same, with shipping, I'll buy the new one. AAMOF, I recently did just that for an 18V Makita Ni-Cad.
dave
I think Swingman was pointing out that it wasn't just a rebuild. For about the cost or less then a new battery you could have a battery rebuilt that had higher amp hour cells, and sometimes higher performance as in being able to deliver more amps at stated voltage for longer. This is important to people doing production work in the field.
Mike M
You're correct. In most situations experience makes for much better advice than just doing math. It's fuzzy thinking when folks only look at dollar signs and don't take all the factors into account. Anyone who has had a factory 18v XRP upgraded by primecell.com would never buy a new battery from DeWalt even if it were cheaper.
But you're not figuring in the cost of your time to do it. I don't know about you, but my time is worth at least as much as the raw materials.
Besides, how much do you have to use a battery before it completely fails, especially on a new tool? Most of the time, by the time the batteries are failing, the tool is out of date and you'd probably do better to just buy a new tool.
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